A Different Kind of Flame
by ElinaLin
Summary: If there was a word Roy Mustang would use to describe Edward Elric, itwas 'fiery'. Today, he found a new kind of fire in the young alchemist.


If there was a word Roy Mustang would use to describe Edward Elric, it was 'fiery'.

Others might choose young, reckless, naive, hot headed, stubborn, genius, prodigy. He was all of them. But for Roy, he was fiery.

When he walked down the streets of whichever city he happened to be in, he was a steady fire. He burned bright without a hitch, no flicker, no hesitation. He was focused on one thing and one thing only: to get back Alphonse's body, and also his limbs. Much like fire, he burned bright, but at the same time he was waiting for his impeding doom. He needed constant fuel, new things to keep him going, else when he hit a wall he would burn out all of his passion and he would crumple. It was one of the reasons why Roy let the boy roam around looking for clues for the Philosopher's Stone and why he often gave him missions that was connected to the stone, somehow. To keep him burning. To keep him alight.

When he was fighting, he was at his brightest. He moved fast, tirelessly, like dancing fire licking around. His eyes gleamed with wit and intelligence far brighter than usual. The way he calculated the opponent's moves, the way he surprised them with his own acrobatic moves. The fire burned bright, litting every corner of the room with newfound light. Even the occasional sly strategies gave him a bright light that was both refreshing and surprising, like a sudden lick of flames to an unexpected direction.

He was at the most dangerous when he was enraged. It was as if the fire was quenched at first, but when one took a good look at his eyes they would see that the fire still burned bright as ever, but it was a different kind of fire. Instead of the steady burn, it was an angry blaze, much like the unforgiving flames that once burned the boy's house to the ground, or the colonel's own alchemy-induced flames that left death and devastation at its wake. Coming from the boy, though, it felt somewhat unnatural, unnerving, even more than the flames he produced with his gloves.

It was when he was sad, when he had been faced with failure that ended in death that he was at his most heart-wrenching. The light in his eyes were no more than dying fire, dim and dull, grim. A ghost of its previous brightness. The smallest gust of wind could kill the light easily. The wit, the bravery, the refusal to give up... all gone. A different art to relight the fire was much needed. Care was a must, and yet at the same time one must be decisive as well. And Roy held pride to the fact that he had been successful to bring back the light.

Before, Roy was convinced that the steady fire was his favourite. Because even though it was Ed at his most obnoxious and notoriously annoying, it was also Ed at his most agreeable, stable, easiest to deal with. But that was before Roy caught the sight of the young alchemist's sleeping form.

He suspected the boy fell asleep waiting for him, wanting to give in his report. Surprising, really, how he had managed to actually come in time for a report, considering how he had always been late before (Roy suspected it was done deliberately). But for him to actually fall asleep in his commanding officer's room... Roy was sure the boy was dead tired. It might have something to do with the latest mission he had given him... Roy heard it was quite a problem for the Elric brothers.

And he found a new kind of fire.

A sleeping Ed is the same as sleeping embers, same as burning coal. While the fire was subdued, the light was dimmed considerably, the heat was constant. He gave sighs and mutters and mumbles as he dreamt, much like the sparks the embers spat every once in a while. Once awake, he'd be ready to burn once again, steadily getting brighter as his consciousness returned. Roy found this one to be his favourite, now. This was easier to deal with than the other kind of fire - the other verions on Ed. He simply need to watch over him, and fan him awake whenever needed, or waited until the boy woke up on his own. It was a time to prepare for the usual steady fire, really.

A knock on his door brought Roy back to the real world, forcing him to stop observing the sleeping alchemist. He turned to the door as it creaked open, and a suit of armor walked in, trying to be as quiet as possibke upon seeing the sleeping figure.

"I'm so sorry, Colonel," Al whispered, not wanting to wake his brother. "I told Brother to give the report tomorrow instead but he won't listen. I hope he's not been bothering you."

"It's alright," Roy gave a reassuring smile. "I've just gotten back from lunch. I have a feeling your brother's been asleep for at least half an hour, now."

"Ah... No wonder. The last mission was pretty rough..."

Roy's eyebrows knitted together instantly. "What exactly happened?"

"Well..."

Whatever Alphonse was going to say was stopped by a sudden groan from the couch. Ed was waking up, like embers getting fanned into a steady blaze. He sat up and looked around, taking in the environment as the licking flames steadily grew brighter. When his eyes finally lit with his usual gleam, he stared straight at Roy and his face burned bright red immediately.

"Tired, Fullmetal?" he couldn't resist a jibe.

"Whose fault is it for giving me a troublesome mission?" Ed retorted back immediately, masking his embarrassment with annoyance.

"Well, I can't deny that," Roy mused, "so if you prefer to go back to your dorm and get some sleep instead of reporting, I'll wait for you tomorrow to give your report at 2."

Ed's jaw hung open. "You're being generous. You're never generous. Please tell me you aren't Envy in disguise."

"Brother!" Al chided him immediately.

"You're saying it as if I'm completely heartless," Roy sighed. "Well, Fullmetal. Your choice. I'd rather not have you dawdling around here doing nothing. So if you're not giving me your report now, please do tomorrow."

"Fine, fine, oral report's okay, right?" Ed said impatiently. At Roy's nod, he began, "We went to South City like you told us to. The lead was just another bogus, though. There was this sick village chief who had the girls in the village kidnapped to be sold as slaves and sex workers. We beat them. The end."

"Details, Fullmetal. I heard the mission was troublesome."

Ed shuffled his feet a bit, looking uncomfortable. His eyes wandered and met Alphonse's. "Um, well... There was a lake."

"And?"

"Well, the lake borders with the mountains near West City. The girls are brought there using boats..."

Roy stayed silent, but his brows furrowed once again. He didn't like the way the story had taken to.

"We had to fight, of course. Then... One of the slave traders managed to throw me off into the waters." Ed shuddered at that.

"I wanted to help, but I'll just sink in the water so I could't do anything," Al said, regret coloring his tones. "And Brother's Automails were dragging him to the bottom of the lake."

"How?" asked Roy simply. Ed looked at his eyes and understood instantly. _How did you get out of that situaton? How did you manage to resurface? Are you alright now?_

Ed shrugged a bit. "I figured if I reduce my weight it would be possible for me to swim to the surface... So I took off my leg." For a moment, Roy thought he actually saw off his flesh leg, but then he realized Ed had meant his Automail leg. "I managed to swim up, and transmute some cages to hold the slave traders. We freed the girls. One of them was used to dive to hunt for fish so I asked her to get back my leg. She did it easily."

"We put back Brother's leg and went back to the village," Al took off where Ed left. "After making sure all traders were in jail and the chief was detained, we had a meal and went back here." Al shot Ed a look that seemed angry somehow, despite the lack of facial expression the armor held. "He refused to sleep in the train, saying that his leg hurt, but he won't let me check. And then he actually went and fell asleep here, of all places!"

"Hey, cut me off some slack," Ed grumbled. "I thought the pain would be gone after a while, alright? But it turns out that it didn't. Seems like some nerves were connected improperly. I fixed it once I got here."

This alarmed Roy more than he thought it should. "But it's alright now?"

"Yeah, Colonel Bastard, it's fine," Ed waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing to worry about. Now that it's done with, may I go?"

A part of him wanted to say no, wanted to check him and made sure he was really, really alright, but another part scolded him for it. Ed was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. "You may. Get some rest, you look like crap."

"You're one to talk."

"I'll permit a day off for you tomorrow. You look like you'll need it."

Once again Ed's jaw hung open. Even Al was staring at him with surprised eyes.

"Well? What are you doing just standing around here? You're dismissed."

"Right," Ed said, a hint of disbelief coloring his tone, but he turned around and walked away immediately.

Al, however, stayed and stared at Roy. "You know, Colonel," he mused, "I used to think that you're a lot like forest fire. Scary and unstoppable and merciless. But right now you look more like a candle. You're being tame."

"A candle, Alphonse?" Roy smirked at the comparison. "I'm hurt."

"A bonfire, then... Still hot and scary but much more agreeable than forest fire."

Roy had just wanted to retort when Ed called out loudly, "Al, come on! Let's get back to the dorm!"

"Coming, Brother!" Al answered. "Well, Colonel, I'll see you around."

Roy nodded. "Take care."

The rest of the day went without a hitch, it was almost boring. Roy found himself wishing that he still had the genius alchemist around to tease. But he needed his rest, and his well being was most important.

It was only later, once he was back home sitting in his couch and sipping hot tea, when he finally realized Al had described him nearly the same way he had described Edward. He nearly choked on his tea.

* * *

><p>AN: So this is a piece of... kinda parental RoyEd? I guess? This is actually my first FMA fic, but it sat in my folder for months before I remembered that I've written it. How I manage to forget having written a fic is beyond me.

Anyway, I hope you liked the story. Please leave a review before you close the tab because seriously, it will make my day.


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